What I think is funny is that the more people want these records in MINT/MINT shape it seems as if they're prepping to sell them down the line. It's not that way for everyone I'm sure, but some people have that mentality and I find that counter-productive to the hobby.

It's 100% a German thing. Try to arrange a trade with a kraut and the first thing he'll ask (in his horribly butchered interpretation of the English language of course) will be "OH BUT IS LP WYNIL MINT/MINT YES???". This pic says it all, the goddamn moron has kvlt vinyl framed on the walls to prevent them from deteriorating and look at how proudly he shows off his oh so precious Sabbat stuff, like he reached some sort of metal-enlightnment that you can only dream about ever achieving:

If you're gonna decide to pay $100 for an LP, wouldn't you want it to be in NM condition? In fact, it should come with a spit shine and a kiss in the ass for that money. Just sayin'.

Not necessarily. The only time I spent $100+ on a record in pre-Internet days was when I bought my Deathcrush from a Swedish seller in '96. Came with a bent corner and I didn't give a flying fuck about that really, had been after that lp for several years and the joy of finally having it in my hands after hundreds of letters/flyers spread all around the world largely exceeded any other point. Back then you looked upon it as a part of the game in a way, ordering stuff from the other corner of the world meant you had to expect something could go slightly wrong and just deal with it.

Besides, I've always tried to be realistic about this sort of things, you can't expect a 10+ year old naturally fragile object to be in perfectly pristine conditions and I don't want it to be that way, either. For some reason when I buy 2nd hand records I like to see the previous owner actually enjoyed them. My copy of Bonded by Blood plays fine but has all sorts of odd writings and old mag pics tied with sticky tape to the inner sleeve and it looks fucking cool imo. I'm sure the average German ubermint fucktards would have a heart attack if they saw it and I'll never get more than $5 on ebay if I ever decide to sell it -which I won't- but to me that's the essence of music. I want to enjoy my records and if they'll be an inch consumed on my day of decay, so be it.

Very well said. There are times when I too actually prefer to find a copy of a record with some wear because:

1. it show's it has been enjoyed.
2. you can usually get it at a more reasonable price!

I got a copy of the Sorcery "Sinister Soldiers" LP recently that when I opened the gatefold some shake and a couple seeds were crushed in there. Somebody had used it as a rolling table to get one ready to burn while listening to it, and to me that's fine. The LP had been around since 1978, and I guarantee you that whoever owned it wasn't thinking about "how rare" it would be or "how much it would be worth on ebay" in 2012. It is usually a $300-500 LP in (as close to) perfect condition as you can find, but I got this one for $100. Yes, I paid $100 for a somewhat beat up LP! But it plays fine, and that's what mattered, I wanted the LP to listen to and enjoy- not put in my vault.

Do I use my LPs as a rolling table? No. But I do actually listen to and handle my records, and sometimes shit happens. I remember pulling out the 10" acetate of the Midnight/Abigail split to give it a listen before the final singles were done, and the thing slipped out of my hands and hit the floor with a loud bang (it does have a metal core!). I just kinda laughed. A one of a kind record, the only copy in existence, and I accidentally drop it. What can you do? Can't keep it all 'mint' if you actually plan to listen to and enjoy them. They'll get finger prints (ooooooohhhh), possible wear on the labels (nooooooo), lines on the gatefold from being opened (aaaaarrrrghhhh) etc etc. Yes, when you actually use them, they look used. And that's OK.

Condition wise, maybe I'm insane but I would expect a VG+ record to play with no major issues like scratches, sueface noise or what have you. Maybe I'm insane? I wouldn't scoff at a VG+ LP assuming it was graded correctly. I just bought some Voivod LPs in VG(+) condition and they play just fine aside from some surface marks.... maybe I'm insane?

You can't take the things with you when you die so enjoy the hell out of them when you're alive. I know that my family will probably throw them in a skip - they already think I'm not all right in the head spending money on records with skeletons on the covers and lyrics about killing nuns.

One thing I do miss is the incredible anticipation of a forthcoming album that I used to feel. NOTHING compares with the suspense of waiting for flyers or zines in the mail or word of mouth to tell you that Crossing the fiery path is finally out.

On the whole though, I'm quite lucky that I don't have a collector mentality. That shit looks like an affliction sometimes. I'm also not someone who has to hear every piece of Metal ever recorded. I've even not heard quite a few of the supposedly mandatory classics and it doesn't bother me at all. I'm more than happy to put on Transilvanian Hunger for the umpteenth time and not give a shit about anything else.

Condition wise, maybe I'm insane but I would expect a VG+ record to play with no major issues like scratches, sueface noise or what have you. Maybe I'm insane? I wouldn't scoff at a VG+ LP assuming it was graded correctly. I just bought some Voivod LPs in VG(+) condition and they play just fine aside from some surface marks.... maybe I'm insane?

I would want my record to play ok, not so worried about the covers except from the point of view of an archivist. There are only so many copies of Thy Mighty Contract, for example with the original awesome art so they are sort of becoming an artefact. Obsessive collectors and Germans do have their place I think!

What I think is funny is that the more people want these records in MINT/MINT shape it seems as if they're prepping to sell them down the line. It's not that way for everyone I'm sure, but some people have that mentality and I find that counter-productive to the hobby.

It's 100% a German thing. Try to arrange a trade with a kraut and the first thing he'll ask (in his horribly butchered interpretation of the English language of course) will be "OH BUT IS LP WYNIL MINT/MINT YES???". This pic says it all, the goddamn moron has kvlt vinyl framed on the walls to prevent them from deteriorating and look at how proudly he shows off his oh so precious Sabbat stuff, like he reached some sort of metal-enlightnment that you can only dream about ever achieving:

I got a copy of the Sorcery "Sinister Soldiers" LP recently that when I opened the gatefold some shake and a couple seeds were crushed in there. Somebody had used it as a rolling table to get one ready to burn while listening to it, and to me that's fine.

true story... a handful of years back I was browsing the local used record shop and had my eyes on one of their 3x copies of Uriah Heep- Demons and Wizards LP... I was inspecting all three copies to figure out which one overall seemed to be the best buy... literally ALL THREE had stems and seed that fell out of the weird gatefold cover these came in when I opened them up to check the vinyl. I thought it was awesome... especially for only $3_________________trade-want list/available list- http://www.nwnprod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20339

As long as my vinyl isn't dirty and cut in half (which happened to me once but hell, I just nailed it on my wall with the cover) or present insane surface noise, I'm fine. And that the sleeve isn't torn apart. I was slightly anal when I first started, but I got over it soon enough. Agreed with everyone before, LPs are meant to be played and manipulated, not rot somewhere and certainly not be framed. I do like having lps on my wall, but I do it the only way.

Part of the fun of getting an old and rare lp, IS to play it. Why would I want some uber rare Sabbat LP if I can't do anything with it? (most of these HMSS suck though) My Sodom LPs are some of my most prized possessions, they're not particularly rare, but just the original pressings of one of my favourite band. And they're not really in perfect conditions. My Persecution Mania innersleeve was cut in two, and it showed the dude hung it on his wall, and I did the same.

that is actually the same raven from the spheres like death cover limited to one out of one_________________if you haven't had to drive 2 hours to meet up with some sketchy dude from craigslists to check out his vinyls for sale in his grandmoms sub basement then you aren't truly heavy metal hunting!

Last edited by Sloth on Mon Nov 12, 2012 6:40 pm; edited 1 time in total

This pic says it all, the goddamn moron has kvlt vinyl framed on the walls to prevent them from deteriorating and look at how proudly he shows off his oh so precious Sabbat stuff, like he reached some sort of metal-enlightnment that you can only dream about ever achieving:

You make a lot of assumptions on a picture alone, where does it say he has the LPs themselves framed and not only the covers? And when you look closer the artwork on the walls seem a lot bigger than the LPs on the shelf below them so probably they are just prints. And maybe he's a huge Sabbat fan proud of his collection and likes to show it off, big deal. I can never understand why people are so concerned over what others do with their lives, hobbies etc. Oh well...

And to the topic in question, yes collecting has lost a lot of it's appeal to me in recent years. And I don't really blame it on the technology either, in addition to ordering stuff from the internet I also regularly visited record stores, fairs, metalmarkets on festivals etc. and enjoyed it. Nowadays I go to a record store maybe once or twice a year and even then just don't really bother browsing through all the LPs or CDs.